Sep 1, 2022

The Welkin - Kirkwood, (13f, 1m, 1 girl)

 The year is 1759 and the country awaits the anticipated arrival of Halley’s Comet. The daughter of Lady Wax has been murdered and the residents of this rural town are out for blood. Sally Poppy has been found guilty of the crime, along with her lover who has already been hanged. Sally’s journey to the noose is dependent on whether she is really pregnant, as she claims, or openly lying. If she is pregnant, she will be transported and her life will be saved. Sally’s fate lies in the hands of twelve women, gathered together to make a unanimous decision one way or the other. Some of the women have reasons for being part of the jury, others cannot wait until their duty is over. Their status, age, and class is varied; one is in the first flush of marriage, another is in her eighties. One of the women is barren, another has had twenty one children. Amidst their bickering and teasing, one woman understands the importance of their presence in the jury room. The midwife, Lizzy, knows that, despite the mob baying for blood outside the window, the twelve women have the chance to make an important, life-changing decision in a world governed by men. However, there is a devil in their midst and the women must wrestle with their consciences to come to a decision.

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7 Comments:

Blogger lsa said...

1) the challenges are many for staging in the arena - I would leave it to directors and designers to solve all the issues of blood, etc.
2) it certainly would need trigger warnings: a man with his hand up a woman's skirts, a pregnant woman being beaten almost to death and then strangled, etc .
3) I kept thinking as I read "where is this going?" it feels really long - and not in a necessary way - as though the same point is being made over and over again - a lot of talking and then a huge explosion of action. Also, it didn't offer me new ways to think about how women are treated in society, etc - it just said repeatedly "women get treated badly and always have been." Yep, but I expect a play to say something to me so that I can see this truth in a different light or through the eyes of someone who isn't like me.
4) so I wouldn't fight again this play if other people love it, but I wouldn't say yes with a ton of enthusiasm either.

9:47 AM  
Blogger Howard said...

It is an interesting read, and I was curious to see what others thought. I agree with Larisa that there a number of technical issues and a need for audience warnings. The major plus is a number of female roles. I don't have any strong feelings about its production.

4:02 PM  
Blogger Larisa said...

I like this a lot, but I don't know that it is right for right now. Our audiences might not be ready for it and it would be expensive to produce with this size of cast.

9:26 AM  
Blogger Jean said...

It seemed really long to me. I can't say I was hanging on very word of the play. I was losing interest by the end of Act 1. Yes, there are lots or=f roles for women but I don't think it would sell well. No for me.

1:26 PM  
Blogger Scott G said...

I don't know why but I just kept feeling like I did when I saw Devil's Decimals years ago. I lived the idea of it more than the execution and in the end it felt long winded and stilted without the saying much. I agree with Linda Sue about multiple trigger warnings and Larissa that it is not the right time for it. I would be willing to revisit it in a few years, but like Larissa said - it is not a good fit at this time.

5:11 PM  
Blogger Smileitisjulie said...

This is a no for me. You know I love a good ladies ensemble play, but I don't think you could do this well in the round and I don't think the science of how pregnancy works and lactation backs up the logic of any of this.

5:29 PM  
Blogger Don said...

I like this play a lot. It has a lot to say about patriarchy, misogyny, and abuse. I love
how gritty and challenging it is. But I think this play needs to be handled by the right people. The physical nature of the men and other moments of misogyny needs to be handled with intention. An intimacy coach and a fight choreographer would be helpful. Otherwise, I think most of this script works very well in this space. I don't think we can expect realistic blood to pool out under an actor. Nor do I think the epilogue scene is practical. But the bulk of this play can be done in our space.

3:22 AM  

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